Standardising antenatal analgesia information

Kmietowicz reports that women from poorer backgrounds are less likely to have an epidural during labour than women from richer backgrounds, even when it is medically indicated.1The authors of the study published in Anaesthesia suggest several reasons for the difference in uptake.2 One reason may be knowledge regarding epidural analgesia.During my obstetric anaesthesia rotation I participated in antenatal anaesthetic clinics for pregnant women referred by their midwife or obstetrician. During these consultations, options for labour analgesia are discussed and patients are signposted to useful resources such as the website of the Obstetric Anaesthetists’ Association.3 This has a wealth of accessible information about labour analgesia and anaesthesia, which is available as text and video format, in 25 different languages. This advice seems to be standardised for pregnant women attending the antenatal anaesthetic clinic at my hospital.The majority of pregnant women do not require referral to an antenatal anaesthetic clinic and many…
Read Original Article: Standardising antenatal analgesia information »